FCA Selects Four Firms for Stablecoin Sandbox

The Financial Conduct Authority has selected four financial technology firms to participate in a regulatory sandbox program for testing stablecoin issuance and applications, marking a key step in the United Kingdom's efforts to integrate digital assets into its financial system under controlled conditions.

The FCA announced on Wednesday that Revolut, Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, and VVTX will begin trials in the first quarter of 2026. Chosen from 20 applicants, these companies represent diverse models for stablecoin use, including payments, wholesale settlement, and cryptocurrency trading. The program allows participants to operate in live market environments while receiving specialized guidance from FCA regulators, without facing full penalties for non-compliance during testing. The initiative, which will run through 2026, aims to evaluate operational resilience, liquidity management, governance, and risk controls to inform the development of final stablecoin rules expected later this year.

Matthew Long, the FCA's director of payments and digital assets, stated that the sandbox supports UK stablecoin issuers "to ensure they can be trusted for payments, settlement...